Lions, Legos, & Ladybugs

Theme:  Letter "L"
Leo the Lion came to school to teach us some things about letter "L/l".  We love "L" because it always makes the same sound.  Some of our "L" words we focused on were Lemon, Leaf, Ladybug, Lion, Love, & Lobster.  We practiced writing it.  We enjoyed listening to some words and then telling if the letter "L" was at the beginning, middle, or end of the word.

Choosing Time:  Legos, Little People, Lacing Cards, Ladybug Letter Game, ABC Letter Puzzles...

Game:  The Ladybug Board Game

Music & Movement:

• Making "L" shapes with our bodies
• Here We Go Loopy-Loo
• This Little Light of Mine
• Three Little Kittens

Science:

1. We learned some cool things about Light with the help from a Laser pointer pen. We saw that paper would stop the light from going to the designated spot on the wall.  The light did go through the plastic and we could see that it traveled in a line as some of the light showed up on the bag.  We saw the light travel through a glass of water and noticed that the water bent the light.  We also saw the laser light hit a mirror and then travel to a different place.
2. We learned about ladybugs:  what they eat & how they are helpful in gardens. 

Art:

• Plaster of Paris Lego Mini Figures
• Ladybug Hats

Cooking:  We made Letter "L" sugar cookies with lemon flavoring

Snacks:

• Cheese Sticks & Cupcakes
• Lemon Bars & Leche
• Fruit Snacks, Fish Crackers, & Cheese Sticks
• Popcorn, Apples, & Chocolate chips (We made ladybugs with the apples and choco chips)
• Letter "L" Sugar Cookies with Lemon Flavoring & Lemonade
• Apple Slices, Cheese Slices, Carrot Slices (We used them to make Letter "L"), & Veggie chips

Books:
 
I enjoyed some delightful discussions about what kind of ladybug you'd be...a friendly or a grouchy one.  I also enjoyed the kiddos responses when I asked, "What makes you grouchy?"

• "When my sister breaks my toys."
• "When my mom spanks me."
• "When no one will play with me."
• "When someone won't share the toys."
• "I'm never grouchy." :)
• "When I have to go to bed."
• "When someone says mean words to me."

We then had a wonderful discussion about how we feel when someone is friendly to us.
 

Birthdays:  Happy Birthday to Rocco & Julian!  Thank you for bringing yummy treats to share!

Writing:  We practiced writing our names the "school" way with the help from a Light box.

Week Five

Theme: Farm Field Trip
Our AM class had a wonderful field trip to Hee Haw Farm! We loved the Giant Slide, the Hay Ride, the Petting Farm, Giant Sunflowers, Corn Stalks, and the Pumpkin Patch. I wish we'd had all day to enjoy all the fun! The goats were a bit intimidating as they blocked the gate, but my brave little friends plowed through and I think we all thought it was worth the effort :) It was interesting to see the cow, pigs, and goats feasting on pumpkins. And, I didn't know that goats were good jumpers...did you? We were able to pet the sheep and poke our fingers deep into their wool to feel their bodies. Their were some new chicks to see in the hen house. The most fascinating detail all observed was that all living things make waste :)

Letter: L
We all met "Leo," the lion. He brought us some fun little books to read about the letter "L". He introduced us to his friend, "Lila," the Ladybug. "L" makes a fun sound. We love lower-case "l" because it is super-de-dooper easy to write and we feel good that we can write it perfectly! Some of the "L" words we focused our reading on were: Lemon, Lion, Love, Lake, Ladybug, Lamb, Lobster, & Leaf.

Choosing Time:
Legos, Cars, Lace Cards, Light Brite, Light Drawing Pad, Dress-Ups, Ladybug "L" Sound Game, & Letter "L" Matching Game
Game: Lila the Ladybug would "fly" to one child and then that child told us one word beginning with letter "L". Lila would fly back to me and then she was off again to visit another child. Our favorite "L" words are lion and ladybug. Everyone thought it was silly when I kept suggesting the word "love" as an option...I'm still not so sure why? :)

Snacks:

• Juice Boxes, Dannon Yogurt Sticks, & Crackers
• Jack-O-Lanterns made from Rise Krispy treats
• Pears, "L" shaped Rice Krispy Treats, and
  
• Fruit Leather & Cheese Sticks
• Lemon Dipped Marshmallows with Lego Candy & Lemon Pound Cake

Music:

• Old MacDonald Had A Farm
• Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
  
• ABC

Movement:

• Skip to My Lou
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes
• Leaf Dance to the Nutcracker Suite
• Lollipop Dance

Books:

• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle: We had a nice discussion about how using our words we can express our thoughts. Being kind and sharing with one another spreads love and makes us all happy. Fighting and not sharing causes us to feel sad and lonely.
• Letter Ll
• Lily, the Silly Lion
• The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis

Science: Leaf Exploration
I had several leaves for us to touch and smell. We compared them in size, smell, and color. Geranium leaves stink. Some liked the smell of Lemon Balm, while others didn't. We all loved the smell of Peppermint leaves. Lamb's Ear is fuzzy and soft. Banana leaves are huge and turn dry and brown while the leaf from a Boxwood is tiny, shiny, and always green. Some leaves turn colors in the Fall before they fall off the trees while others do not. Some leaves are always different colors like the Ajuga Burgundy Glow which have pink and purple leaves. Many leaves are safe to touch, but some are not so we need to be careful when we go exploring.
Field Trip Change of Plans:
My M/W class unfortunately was unable to go to Hee Haw Farm. They called me and told me not to come: that it was too rainy/windy and plain miserable. Instead, we went to the McDonalds in East Bay. We enjoyed each others' company and hot fudge sundaes. Your children were the best behaved and just wonderful children! I then took the kiddos to The Vineyard where we had a great time looking at the pumpkins and Halloween & Thanksgiving Decorations. We each chose a pumpkin to bring home. I really enjoyed seeing how well this class bonded. I am sorry that not everyone came with us to get pumpkins! You were missed!

Art: Fall Leaf Hangings (which will hopefully be hanging from the ceiling in our room next week) & Ladybugs
Writing: We traced lions and practiced making letter "L,l".
Cutest Moments this Week:

• One day there was some concern about one child unwilling to share for a couple of minutes. And then, all the children were clapping and shouting kind words of exclamation that this child chose to share. So sweet and cute to see them root for each other and give support and encouragement!
• At snack time, I was slicing up some pears for snack. I mentioned that I love pears. One child spoke up saying, "I've been to Paris!" Another child quickly added, "I love that ride. (Ferris Wheel) It goes way up in the air!" A third child, eager to participate in this conversation added, "My mom took me to see the biggest lion ever!" It is fun to see how pears can become Paris, Ferris, & Lions :)
• One child had a sad moment. Another child went to get a tissue (without being asked) and then kindly handed it to her. So Sweet!!!!